Surreality

So apparently, surreality is a word. I thought I made it up to describe surreal reality. But apparently it actually means the state of surrealness. Huh. Well, I guess either works.

One week ago tonight, I was sweating bullets in anticipation of getting up at 4 a.m. to hike from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, down to - and across - the Colorado River, and back up. (Also, the people in the hotel room above me were super noisy, which didn't help.) A 19.2-mile hike with a change in altitude of over 5,000 feet in each direction. I whittled down the photos in a way that I hope tells the story. There aren't as many photos of the journey back up to the rim. By then you're more tired, and you kind of don't want to think about the fact that you're just going up and up and the top doesn't really seem to be getting much closer.

The captions in the photos address many common questions, except the following: 

1. How did I feel at the end? Remarkably good, considering I'm in the worst shape I've been in for several years and that my training was minimal (e.g., lots of long walks and some runs with the dog, when not sitting for way too long working lots of extra hours). 

2. Would I do it again? Yes.

3. How long did it take? We went slow and steady, with decent breaks (including about an hour at the bottom of the canyon, drinking lemonade from the little store at the campground that is serviced by mules - I mean restocked by mules, not staffed by mules), and it took us 11 hours. We could have done it in 10 if pressed. But we had plenty of daylight.

Without further adieu (okay, I know, I know - - ado): 

I had never been to the GC before. I've been to Colca Canyon
in Peru. Colca is deeper. The GC is so vast! I loved looking
at all the different layers and types of rocks as we hiked
through the different elevations.

If you zoom in, you can see a little white line.
That is the South Kaibab trail that we took down.
Gulp. Yes, it is on the edge the whole way down.
On the way up, we got a little bit of a break from cliff edges. 
I took this the night before, thus the nervous energy all night.

Waiting for the shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m.
It was just above freezing, with 40 mph winds.
Kim and I flew from MN to AZ, where Matt (aka the
best guide/companion) lives.

At the trailhead. It was cold and my lips got
stuck on my braces, it seems. Also, I was
trying not to freak out. I'm really scared of heights.

That's the trail behind us, it kind of goes... down.

A different angle of the trail.

Switchback down, if you look, you can see a person
three levels down from us. This is how a lot of the
trail was on the way down.

Zoom in - the little zig zag ladder looking things
is the trail, broken up by little tiers of rocks
and timber to help make it more like slanty steps
than a ramp you could slip down. Although I did
slip a few times and let out a yelp.

We had to go to the right and loop around to get on that trail
over yonder.

Here is where we got the first glimpse of the Colorado River.
We were about halfway down and had much more to do
before we got to the river.

It doesn't really look like it, but this is the trail,
on the edge of the cliff. If you zoom in and look in the lower left corner,
that helps show it.

Mules carrying trash and other things from the store down by the
river. I would never ride a mule on those trails. 
This was a wide part of the trail. The trails 
weren't a whole lot wider than the mules' packs.

That little thing just below/left of center
is a big suspension bridge across the river, which we hiked to.

It was really stable.

Crossing the suspension bridge.

We took S. Kaibab down and Bright Angel up. All the
literature says not to do it in one day. You can if you're in decent
shape and you have the right gear/weather. I highly recommend
hiking poles. It would have been much more painful and slow
without them. And more scary.

Gonna head up. It was nearly 90 degrees
at the bottom. And dusty, dusty, dusty! 

A nice break on the way up.

Three miles to the end. I didn't
see a phone.

Not a flattering photo, but 
it is proof that I was there.

The last 4.5 miles are pretty much a steady slog up steep switchbacks. Once we got within a half mile of the top it started getting windy again and as soon as we got to the rim it was super cold and windy. We just went straight to the car and hit the showers. I'm so glad I did this, and very lucky to have the means, the physical ability, and the time to do things like it. Even though I was there and it was very real at the moment, it was also very surreal. 

I came back to Minnesota, where it's been snowing some pretty much each day. But it looks like good weather is coming soon, which means you'll be seeing biking posts from me soon as I train for my July BikeMS ride.

Tell him that you're always gonna leave him, tell him that you're never gonna love him

When we were kids, my parents loaded up the 5 of us kids into a Ford Econoline for a steamy and soggy road trip to Florida. The Big Chill soundtrack (on cassette) was in back-to-back rotation, and my sisters and I altered the words to The Exciters' "Tell Him" in a way that still makes us giggle.

This weekend, my sister Molly, Beth (my stepmom), and I went to the LA area to visit my sister Lori and her husband, Shane.

It was a glorious weekend of chocolate, cheese, sunshine, laughter, games, walks, paddle boating a big swan boat, a run, a dip in the cold pool, goofy singing and dancing, and laughing. And more chocolate. And laughs.

(I don't think this symbol I saw on my run was drawn by a Surly beer lover.)

Oh! And fresh grapefruit from their tree. And visiting the ocean and seeing their spectacular new house.

Lori recently had surgery, and Shane is gearing up for some, so Molly and I ventured off the beaten path a tiny bit more than the others. We took Lori and Shane's cruiseryish bikes for a spin on a trail that cuts through Reseda and VanNuys. My first outdoor bike ride of 2022! (The Blogger phone app won't let me load up the video. Maybe that is a good thing.)

Anyhow, technically, I am gonna count that as a BikeMS training ride! I was wearing my BikeMS gear, after all...

https://mssociety.donordrive.com/participant/GoMaggieGo-2022

Fact: Your presence here just shimmers, now let's dance.

Those of you who are on Facebook (and are connected to me there) know that I recently posted this photo of a pep talk generator. I really want to make better use of it. I decided there's no time like the present!

Anyhow, I haven't posted anything here for three months because there hasn't been a whole lot to say. I have no outdoor biking stories to tell because I've been using my indoor bike. (Really glad I got that since it was essentially below zero for the bulk of the past 5 weeks!) Things are still COVIDlicious. I've been working a lot. I laid pretty low over the holidays, but got to see some family members here and there, which was good.

So, as I sit here, drinking a yummy Belgian beer while incongruously wearing my Leinenkugel's leiderhosen sweatsuit for the first time since Halloween (makes for great pjs!), I thought there are a few things that may interest you fine reader(s).

As much as possible, I've been getting out with the dog for adventurous hikes. (We also had an epic 8+ mile hike with my friend Marcy, which was fantastic.) She is more limited by the cold than I am, since I don't know where to find ear muffs or a snout-warmer for Haley. A few times, I've realized, once we've started, that it is chillier than I thought it was, due to the wind. So, I've ended up doing a fair amount of jogging in nature parks wearing snowboots and a winter coat. Apologies that some of these dog photos may not be new to some of you, given my "Haley Daily" posts on Facebook (it's a bit of a misnomer, but "Haley Semiweekly" just doesn't have the same alliterative effect. (Is that the right word?)

From Nov, when it was just getting cold.

Late Dec, at Lake Elmo Park. It was icy and windy and
we ran much of the 6-mile trail. She is quite the hunter!

Late Dec, Minnehaha Falls. My cousins from 
St. Louis unfortunately visited - to attend an 
outdoor hockey game - when it was below zero.
The falls were pretty tho'.

Haley and Pierre, in January, when
Dan and I were in... Mexico!

So, in January 2020, Dan and I went to Mexico for a Wilco-focused music festival. Even though we thought it was kind of ridiculous when we booked it, it turned out to be a great thing because (1) it was great, (2) we had the shittiest end to 2019 with my Dad dying and my mom's cancer, and (3) a big surprise was waiting for us in March 2020. In May 2021, after getting booster shots, we though, let's do it again in January 2022! After much hemming and hawing due to Omicron, realizing that I did not actually get the cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance and instead got really expensive insurance that would cover adventurous deaths (e.g., skydiving with sharks) and the repatriation of our remains, and a lot of emails and back and forth to the festival organizers about how exactly things would work if we got sick in Mexico, we went to Mexico. 

That's me. :-)  It was pants weather at night, which was fine!

It was not quite the same, but it was really, really good. It was warm, sunny most of the time, and not our house. We got to see good music. Our flights were not delayed. We have TSA precheck AND global entry. We just had to wear masks for many hours for two days and I was annoyed by jackasses that refuse to just follow the rules. So, you know, less annoying than a typical workday for anyone who has worked in the service industry in the past two years. 

A bit warmer in Mexico than at home.

The main stage. People were pretty spaced out this year.
Geographically, I mean. Only a few people are actually
really drunk, which is good for an all-inclusive resort.
They wisely have food all over the place.

 

This shady overlook thing where you can watch
the afternoon bands in a comfy chair.

They have a lot of activities. Like in 2020, my priority
was the mezcal tasting event with Nels Cline and 
John Stirrat. I didn't want to be too close to people,
so we sat in the back, which was nice.

The mezcals. One was definitely not my style.

Side stage where Nels Cline talked about playing 
guitars. Dan was very happy.

I started every day with a short run (monkeys and lizards were seen),
and then we usually had breakfast in a spot like this.
Not too shabby.

After breakfast, before the mid-afternoon music
started, we just read. And I swam and looked
at cute little hermit crabs and other creatures.

After Mexico, I had a couple-three, as they say here in Minnesota, COVID tests and then went to visit my mom and stepdad. I bought a harness for this year-old, muscular pup - and a waist leash - and took him snowshoeing. I became his new BFF.

Haley, with her keen nose, was not thrilled about the scent of Alvin all over my clothes. So, I tried to win back her affection...

So, what's on deck in the upcoming months? Well, we have an Irish dance performance for St. Patrick's day, I'm going hiking in the Grand Canyon in the spring. I've got a couple other trips sprinkled in that hopefully will happen, and then a beercycling trip in Belgium (knock on wood - rescheduled from 2020) and.... the Bike MS Ride Across Minnesota in July - - - which will be on the North Shore of MN, a truly lovely place. (You can donate here! https://mssociety.donordrive.com/participant/GoMaggieGo-2022)

I'm a little out of shape due to working too much, and spending a good chunk of December eating pastries/cookies and drinking beer (not a ton, but too much for me). Although I've been healthier these past couple of weeks, I did still eat the requisite post-platelet-donation Oreos today. I actually had skipped them but then was feeling a little shaky, so decided it was necessary from a public safety standpoint if I was going to drive home. 

It is supposed to be warm and melty later this week. I may have missed my window for fat biking this year, and think we still need more snow after last year's drought. I normally am able to be out riding around St. Patrick's Day. We'll see how this year pans out...